Why the trade of A.J. Jenkins makes sense

The 49ers have done this before, traded a failed draft choice for someone else’s failed choice. They did it in 2006, dealing former first-round pick Rashaun Woods to San Diego for their former first rounder in cornerback Sammy Davis. In the end, neither one of them made it.
That’s likely to happen with the team’s recent deal – a swap of A.J. Jenkins to Kansas City for Jonathan Baldwin. Both are former first-round receivers.
However, at least initially, the 49ers are likely to get more from Baldwin than the Chiefs are likely going to get from Jenkins. Baldwin does have 41 NFL receptions. Jenkins is looking for his first. Baldwin isn’t expected to be among the top three receivers on the team, so getting 20 catches out of him would be a bonus.
Baldwin’s success will depend upon how he takes this trade. The 49ers are likely to tell him, “You are not a top-round pick here. You start at the bottom.” Consequently, Baldwin isn’t going get the reps in practice he enjoyed in Kansas City.
The 49ers might even ask him to play special teams. He is 6-4, 230 pounds and he can run and putting him on kickoffs could provide him with plenty of humility.
The book on Baldwin is that he uses his size to fend off defenders and get open. Coming out of Pitt he was known for wrestling the ball away from defenders. But he hasn’t done that as a pro and he has gained a reputation for dropping passes.
His routes are also imprecise.
Meanwhile, the A.J. Jenkins experiment had run its course. They tried coddling him, yelling at him, supporting him, calling him out and nothing worked. After all of it, he regressed. No matter how hard they tried, they weren’t going to get 20 catches out of him this season.
Jenkins also seemed to be unprepared. He might have gotten to the point where he was hating football and his 49ers’ experience. When that happens, he’s not going to put in the extra time to become a better player.
However, in Kansas City, he’s not expected to be a major contributor. He’ll probably be a situational player that will be put in motion so he doesn’t have to hand fight cornerbacks at the line of scrimmage. He can be a deep-threat specialist.
At Illinois, Jenkins started very slowly his first and second seasons and then took of as a junior when Illinois hired Paul Patrino as their offensive coordinator. It’s possible a new coaching staff could unlock his potential, but that was no longer possible in San Francisco.